Aldi steps up search for sites as store rollout continues at pace

Aldi has stepped up its search for new sites across the country as it aims to continue rolling out new stores at pace.

New industry data revealed that Aldi remains the fastest-growing supermarket. As well as growing sales by over 26% year-on-year, during the last three months Aldi attracted 1.3m more shoppers with customer spend switching from every other supermarket.

Aldi plans to invest more than £400 million in store development over the coming year as it targets new and refurbished stores across the UK, including in the Midlands, North West, North East, Yorkshire and coastal towns.

Aldi currently has more than 990 stores but is committed to continuing towards its current target of 1,200 stores across the UK to reach more shoppers.

That means it is on the lookout for freehold town-centre or edge-of-town sites that are around 1.5 acres and can accommodate a 20,000sq foot store with around 100 parking spaces.

Ideally, each location would be near a main road with good visibility and access, with priority locations listed below.

The supermarket offers a finder’s fee for agents who recommend a site, which is either 1.5% of a freehold price or 10% of the first year’s rent for leasehold sites.

Giles Hurley, chief executive officer at Aldi UK, said: “Demand for Aldi has never been higher here are still some towns and areas that either don’t have access to an Aldi or have capacity for additional stores.

“To meet that demand, we need to open more stores and it’s our mission to keep driving our ambitious expansion plan to achieve that.”

Priority locations include: